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What to See and Do . in Benton Historical Limestone Water Tower Water Street—Benton, Wisconsin Built in 1900, Benton’s historical limestone water tower is one of the few of its type in the Midwest and one of only two in the state of Wisconsin. Originally the water tower had a red wooden tank on top. Perched atop the tank was a windmill that pumped water from the well below and had blades that are said to each have been “as big as a man.” The limestone water tower was Benton’s source of water from 1900 until the spring of 1998 when the current water tower was put into use. In 1999, Benton’s limestone water tower was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Image courtesy of Dave Driscoll.) Mazzuchelli Gravesite and Rectory Museum 237 E. Main—Benton, Wisconsin Father Samuel Mazzuchelli came from Italy to America at the age of 22. Following his ordination, he was assigned to be a missionary priest for the Northwest Territory. He was highly admired and earned the respect of all to whom he ministered, including settlers, miners, and the area’s native tribes. Father Mazzuchelli was the child of wealthy parents and received a comprehensive, cultured education which included the command of several languages and the study of architecture. As a pioneer priest, Father Mazzuchelli designed and built 25 churches in the upper Mississippi Valley area—including Benton’s St. Patrick Catholic Church, built in 1852, and New Diggings’ St. Augustine Church, constructed eight years prior to that. (Photos courtesy of Dave Driscoll.) In addition to his renowned missionary work and his formation of Christian communities in the region, Father Mazzuchelli was also a pioneer in Wisconsin education. He opened and taught in public schools in Benton, New Diggings, Hazel Green, and Sinsinawa, teaching the children of lead miners in those towns. In 1852 he established St. Clara Academy for Girls in Benton. The school continued here until 1867 when it was moved to Sinsinawa Mound. St. Clara Academy was in operation in Sinsinawa until it was closed in 1970. Father Mazzuchelli aslo founded schools for girls in Prairie du Chien and Galena, and he established the teaching congregation of Dominican Sisters at the Sinsinawa Mound, Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. His command of native languages of the area enabled him to publish texts for the Winnebago and Menominee Indians of the region. He is credited, too, with having published the first book in the state, a liturgical almanac in the Chippewa language. Father Mazzuchelli ministered at St. Patrick for the last 15 years of his life. His rectory during his early years as Benton’s priest was a small home that was moved to Bean Street when a larger parish house was built. In 1989 Father Mazzuchelli’s first rectory house was moved from its Bean Street location back to a site on St. Patrick Church grounds. It was restored and stands preserved as the Mazzuchelli Rectory Museum. Father Mazzuchelli died in 1864 and is buried in St. Patrick Catholic Church Cemetery. In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Father Mazzuchelli venerable, the first step to possible canonization as a saint. Visitors may visit the Mazzuchelli Gravesite at any time. Appointments for tours of the Mazzuchelli Rectory Museum may be made by contacting Pauline Alexander at 608.759.3441. (Visitors might like to continue learning about Father Mazzuchelli by visiting his archives at the Sinsinawa Mound, located 12-14 miles west of Benton on Cty Rd. Z in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. Father Mazzuchelli founded the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation there in 1847. The Mound is currently home to nearly 700 Dominican Sisters and houses Father Mazzuchelli’s exhibit, “Samuel Mazzuchelli, Tracing a Journey.” The exhibit includes highlights of his life and accomplishments, and showcases a number of artifacts. Included in those artifacts is the chain Father Samuel wore as penance, secretly hidden beneath his vestments and wrapped tightly around his waist. Many people—particularly the ill and ailing—have prayed with Father Muzzuchelli’s penance chain in the hope of being granted a miracle. The Mazzuchelli exhibit at Sinsinawa Mound is open from 10 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. Monday through Friday (closing from noon to 12:30), and from 12:30 to 3:30 P.M. on Saturday and Sunday.) Swindlers’ Ridge Museum 25 W. Main Street—Benton, Wisconsin Located near the center of town, Swindlers’ Ridge Museum is the home to artifacts and historical memorabilia from Benton and the surrounding area. Included is memorabilia from the lead-mining industry that once was so prevalent in and around Benton. The museum is open from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Other visits may be made by appointment by contacting Pauline Alexander at 608.759.3441. 1851 Schoolhouse Museum Village Park—Benton, Wisconsin Benton is fortunate to have a part of its educational history preserved in the 1851 Schoolhouse Museum, the first schoolhouse built in the village limits. At the time of its construction in 1851, the schoolhouse was located near the corner of Main and Park Streets, and although it was a public school, Dominican nuns taught there until 1886. (There are historical indications, however, that perhaps they may not have been the school’s very first teachers.) When a new two-room school was erected in 1886, the first schoolhouse was moved to the rear of the new school. After being sold some years later, it was moved one-quarter mile east on Highway 11 and used as a private residence. In 1980 the building was donated to the Benton Alumni Association by Bill and Diana Sides and was moved, once again, to its present location on Catherine Street in the Village Park. The museum houses a collection of Benton school and alumni memorabilia. It is open on Labor Day and Memorial Day weekends and other times by appointment by contacting Pauline Alexander at 608.759.3441. Rustic Road Tour Benton / New Diggings Countryside Created by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1973, the Rustic Roads’ Tour is a statewide program that gives outdoor enthusiasts the opportunity to travel through some of the scenic, peaceful countryside of Wisconsin. Travelers may enjoy the Rustic Roads’ Tour by car, on foot, by bike, or even on horseback. Motorcyclists have long enjoyed the peaceful ride of a “road less traveled” and have included Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads in their cycling adventures. The southwest region of the Rustic Roads’ system is a 7.5-mile trip that takes travelers on a scenic drive in the countryside between Benton, New Diggings and Hazel Green. It follows portions of Buncombe, Kennedy, Beebe, and Ensch Roads, making its way beside meandering creeks and the hilly farmlands and pastures of the area. The early mining history of the region is evident in remnants of the abandoned Kennedy Mine, once producing more than 1,300,000 tons of lead/zinc ore, helping Wisconsin to produce 85% of the nation’s lead. (To be a part of Wisconsin’s Rustic Road program, an area must have outstanding natural features or include open areas with an agricultural setting, must have a minimum length of two miles and be lightly traveled, and must not be changed or improved in such a way as to change its rustic characteristics.) Self-Guided Driving Tour of Old Area Mines Benton, New Diggings, Leadmine, and Shullsburg Benton, like a number of towns in the region, owes its very existence to early lead miners and the mining industry they began here. Mines like the Frontier Mine and the Penna Benton Mine were common sites in the region. (The Frontier Mine was located on the west edge of town on property currently owned by Stella McDermott, and the Penna Benton was located in New Diggings.) While there are no longer any working mines in the area, there still exist remnants of many of those old mines. Historian Loren Farrey has written a book—A Tour Guide to the Mines of Lafayette County, Wisconsin—that enables visitors to take a self-guided tour to the locations of a number of those mines. The book guides visitors past sites of 22 old mines and includes a history and pictures of each site. The tour originates in Shullsburg’s Badger Mine and Museum located in the Badger Park at 279 W. Estey Street. The museum is open from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. daily between Memorial Day and Labor Day. While you may begin your tour at any point in the book, the Badger Mine and Museum offers visitors a history of mining and mining life that will lend valuable meaning to your driving tour of the area. Additionally, Swindlers’ Ridge Museum in Benton has a number of mining artifacts and memorabilia and should be included on your tour, as well. Swindlers’ Ridge Museum is open from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Other visits may be made by appointment by contacting Pauline Alexander at 608.759.3441. (Farrey’s book, A Tour Guide to the Mines of Lafayette County, Wisconsin, is available for purchase at Benton’s Swindler’s Ridge, the Benton State Bank, the Rock Café, and the Badger Mine and Museum of Shullsburg. It is also available for loan at the Benton Public Library.) . In New Diggings Izaak Walton Fever River Handicapped Fishing Dock Cty. Hwy W—New Diggings, Wisconsin Seeing a need to have an area from which handicapped persons can enjoy the sport of fishing, the Southwestern Chapter of the Izaak Walton League initiated and built the Izaak Walton Handicapped Fishing Dock.
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